


Punch First

by DiamondBoy



Category: B.A.P, K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Decopunk, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Bangtan as side kicks with Namjoon as the Mayor, Implied Past Abuse, It gets really sad, It's a League of Legends AU, M/M, Most of the characters listed are minor characters, Sexual Content, Upsetting kind of sad, With Gay Cops, cartoonish violence, just a warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-05-06 12:00:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5416133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondBoy/pseuds/DiamondBoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bang Yongguk is the new sheriff in town, ushering in a new peace for Piltover with his deputy Moon Jongup. But with the creation of a new force, an opposing force will rise, and it wants Piltover a smoking ruin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jongup Says

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongup is promoted to deputy and thrown right into the fray, reflecting on his circumstances leading to this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prologue should help clear things up a little.

Jongup's muscles ache. 

 

They always ache but now, now it was a deep enough pain to make him stop. 

 

Police Officer Moon Jongup was in the gym of the Piltover Police Station, sweat beading over his bared arms as the punching bag sways in front of him. He leans on the heavy equipment as his biceps twitch with muscle cramps, trying to catch his breath to breathe through the sharp spasms. 

 

"Hey! I've been looking everywhere for you." Captain Jung Hoseok says as he enters the room, his uniform shoes clicking against the linoleum floor. Jongup swallows and turns to look at his colleague, the room very literally brightening with his presence. Hoseok was a Light Mage, a normal person touched by natural magicks until they absorbed the element into themselves and could use it on command. Jongup wasn't a mage, but he was enhanced by other means and the nickel sized silver nerve ports dotting up and down his arms and over his back were a testament to those, very not natural, very human enhancements. Jongup nods briefly before pushing himself to stand up right again, biting down on his tongue as another ache pinged over his shoulder. "I wanted to congratulate you, Deputy." 

 

Hoseok smiles brightly and Jongup lifts his hand to mockingly shield his eyes from the brightness of Hoseok's smile, returning it with one of his own. 

 

"Thank you. It hasn't really sunk in yet though." Jongup says, patting the punching bag before wandering over to the wall and pulling a towel down from the shelves. He patted his face before draping the towel over his head. Jongup was promoted to Deputy directly under the Sheriff yesterday, and it was his first day in his new position. He realizes he still thinks of himself as a Captain. "How's Yoongi? Or Controller Min now?" 

 

Hoseok laughs and leans against the wall, the blue of his Captain uniform almost matching the dark blue of the concrete walls. "Control Commissioner Min actually, he was so excited for his new position, this morning he spoke before his first coffee of the day. He set the table on fire when he did but-" Hoseok shrugs like it's not a big deal. Jongup has to guess it isn't, not with a half-dragon for a husband. 

 

Jongup's enhanced, human created abilities were powered by attack damage, or AD for the technical abbreviation. Hoseok's naturally gained magicks were powered by ability power, or AP. Strength was measured in this way, AD or AP levels easily measured with the right hextech equipment. But for hybrids like Yoongi, half dragon, they had a power that was all their own and difficult to measure in any sense. Yoongi was a very powerful being, he was the Deputy of Piltover's Finest for over six years, ever since the Sheriff was appointed to the position by the Mayor. But as all things, Yoongi grew tired of the position and lobbied for the less stressful position of Control. Jongup was chosen by the Sheriff to take his place. 

 

"I can hear you, you know." Yoongi's voice rang from the small speaker set into the wall nearest Hoseok, and the Captain covers the speaker with his hand. 

 

"No you can't shh." Hoseok says brightly, and Jongup snorts a laugh into his towel as he sits down on a bench. 

 

"You're a moron." Yoongi grumbles and its slightly muffled by Hoseok's hand. 

 

"I love you too." Hoseok clicks back, removing his hand to kiss the speaker. 

 

"Don't kiss that you don't know what's been on it- anyway I have actual news if you're interested in doing your job for once." Yoongi says, his tone of voice changing slightly. Jongup looks up in curiosity, his eyes finding the small video lens above the speaker. "The Sheriff just called all available officers to ready, there's a situation unfolding on the East End Docks. Captain Jung is to gather the rest of his team because Support Captain Park Jimin has been incapacitated and needs backup in the Markets on the North End, closer to Centuryview." 

 

Hoseok nods, and Jongup can see his demeanor change from his friend Hoseok to Captain Jung. 

 

"Understood. I'm on my way to the armory." Hoseok shoots Jongup one more smile before turning and leaving the gym, leaving Jongup sitting on the bench by himself. 

 

"And that other thing you asked about Deputy, I have some news on that." Yoongi continues, Jongup straightening his back in attention. "Your new position allows access to files you're previously not privy to and in them I found something. I sent it all to your tablet to look over when you have time." 

 

"Thank you Control." Jongup says as he stands up, pulling his shirt over his head and dropping it on the bench beside him. 

 

"No problem kid. Sheriff wants everyone together in a half an hour, they're bringing out the big guns for this." 

 

"I'll be ready in fifteen, with the biggest guns." Jongup adds, lifting his arm to flex it at the camera where he knows Yoongi is watching. 

 

"Gross." 

 

A click and Jongup knows Yoongi disconnected, the deputy's laugh echoing through the empty gym. 

 

* * *

 

 

 Jongup showers and gets dressed quickly after that, shrugging a jacket over his shoulders and forgoing putting a shirt on. He grabs his gym bag, throwing it over his shoulder and calling the high speed elevator. Normally, Jongup would be going to the tenth floor armory, but his weapons were too badly damaged after the last time he was on call and they had to be given to the Techmaturgial department for repair. Jongup would have repaired them himself but the lead of the Techma Department himself said he had plans for Jongup's arms. So instead of the armory, he called for the forty fifth floor instead. 

 

As soon as he steps off the elevator into the rush and hustle of the one of the most advanced departments in the Piltover Police Force, a screech from across the room grabs his attention. 

 

"Jonguppie!" Doctor Kim Taehyung shouts, getting up on his chair and waving his arms at the deputy. Jongup half smiles and breaks into a jog to get across the testing floor, dodging sparks and machinery from experimental hextech. Taehyung plops down in his chair again when Jongup steps up beside his table, waving dramatically at the gauntlets assembled on the surface. "I fixed it." 

 

"All by himself and he didn't have any help at all." Yoo Youngjae adds dryly, adjusting his glasses as he sits on the other side of the table. Jongup nods in acknowledgement at the Detective, who blinks back at him. 

 

"So, I reconstructed the right gauntlet as best as I could- you really destroyed them Jonguppie." Taehyung says, blowing past any icy look from Youngjae, and he pats his hands on the forearm of the giant mechanized hands. "How's the right tricep nerve port?" 

 

Jongup slips one arm out of his jacket and lifts his arm, one of the small silver ports a little red around the edges. "It's healing well for having been ripped out two days ago." 

 

Youngjae coughs, ducking his head down and Jongup raises his gaze to the Detective just in time to see a light dusting of pink over the tops of his cheekbones. But Youngjae lifts his head again and it's gone. "He wanted to install a siren... And a megaphone in the right hand." 

 

Taehyung sighs and looks wistfully down at the weapons. "Yeah, but all we had time for was the blast shield." 

 

The Doctor flips the connecting mechanism that plugs into the nerve ports on Jongup's spine over, tapping the new feature. It's a crystal blue light, deactivated and dark right now. Jongup raises his eyebrows in question. "Blast shield?" 

 

"It should protect the softer parts of you when you're punching through walls." Youngjae explained, a beeping coming from the Detective's right sleeve distracting him. Jongup watches as Youngjae pulls up the sleeve of his uniform jacket, a complicated piece of hextech strapped to his forearm. 

 

"Not that any part of you is soft, eh Guppie?" Taehyung adds, patting the Deputy's bared chest and smiling. Jongup chuckles in response, ducking his head bashfully. Taehyung looks over when the beeping on Youngjae's hextech doesn't stop, pushing his glasses back up. "What are you doing?" 

 

Youngjae huffs as he taps a small glass dome on his hextech, the beeping getting more insistent. "I don't think the Z Drive is responding to your new addition. I told you I didn't need a damn siren on my stabilizer." 

 

Taehyung climbs up onto the table, crawling over Jongup's gauntlets as he kneels over Youngjae to get a closer look. Youngjae is a Time Mage, an accident a few years ago leaving him unable to function without a Z Drive mechanism to anchor him to the present time. Over the years he's fiddled with the hextech enough to weaponize it and become a part of the Sheriff's taskforce, along with Jongup and three other officers. Taehyung lifts Youngjae's arm and the small Detective almost falls out of his chair as the Doctor twists a knob violently, and a small piece of tech pops out of the Z Drive and the beeping stops. "There, you big baby." 

 

"Can I get help getting these on? Youngjae and I need to report in." Jongup says as he grabs onto one of the fingers on his left gauntlet and pulls the hextech closer to him. His gauntlets are his own design, five times bigger than his arms and ten times stronger. The nerve ports implanted in his muscles give him fast reaction time and reflexes, the armor making him able to take more damage and yeah, he really likes punching through walls. Jongup drops his jacket to the floor and slides his left arm into the correct gauntlet, wincing slightly as the hextech hissed to life and connected male ends into his female nerve ports. Taehyung hops off the table and picks up the back piece, gently placing it over Jongup's shoulders around his back and connecting it to the left gauntlet. Youngjae pushes the right gauntlet over and turns it, so Jongup just has to bend and slip his other arm inside. 

 

"I need the armor from the table over there, bring it." Taehyung orders one of the many assistants bustling around the floor as he connects the right gauntlet to the back piece and holds it while the machinery slowly comes to life. "So we received a shipment of a new armor, it's Randiun Steel from Demacia. It's a lot heavier than what you're used to with the Deadman's Plate you use."

 

Jongup stands up as his fingers flex one by one, stretching his arms out to the sides as he got used to the weight of the heavy metal arms. "I don't want any Demacian garbage armor." Jongup grumbles. Taehyung knocks the Randiun Steel plate out of the assistants hands as they bring it up to him, the metal ringing through the whole hanger sized floor. 

 

"Fine get the Deadman's Plate again, even though it's weaker." Taehyung amends, and the rest of Jongup's armor is quickly strapped to him. Youngjae gets off of his chair and goes behind Jongup to open the deputy's gym bag, pulling out the rest of his uniform once Jongup is fully armored. The Detective stands in front of Jongup and pins the new Deputy badge to the cloth covered plate, the green metal sigil of the Piltover Police Department gleaming in the bright light of the room. 

 

"Are you ready Deputy Moon?" Youngjae asks, carefully inserting a receiver into Jongup's ear. Jongup smiles and Youngjae pulls goggles onto the deputy's head. Jongup suddenly gets an image of dating Youngjae, but it's gone as quickly as it came, a gummy smile and soft caring eyes flashing in his mind instead. 

 

"Yeah, but I might fuck it up." Jongup says, smiling anyway. Youngjae pats Jongup's massive mechanical shoulder.

 

"It'll be okay. Probably."  Youngjae says, trying to sound reassuring but sounding more sarcastic than anything. Taehyung is at Jongup's right side, tapping at the welded metal plate. 

 

"Should be alright." Taehyung says with a nod. 

 

The earpiece crackles to life in Jongup's ear and Yoongi's voice comes through, Youngjae tilting his head as it's broadcast to him as well. 

 

"The Sheriff has a cruiser getting ready for you on the launch pad out of the Techma Department. It'll be ready to fly in a few minutes." Yoongi's voice drawls in his ear, and Jongup voices a confirmation. Youngjae turns and heads to the other side of the massive room, where massive blast doors were opening to reveal a launch pad hanging over the side, an open air cruiser being prepared by more scurrying assistants in white coats. Taehyung is already gone, the small Head of Department rushing off to check on another experiment or project or whatever mad scientists get up to when they have unlimited government funding. Jongup follows after Youngjae, kicking his gym bag under the table before going. 

 

Jongup feels his data tablet vibrate with new information, and the deputy turns his gauntlet over to view it on the small screen on his wrist instead of trying to pull out his tablet. 

 

When he reads it, he stops, his heart dropping down into his stomach. 

 

"Deputy come on! We're leaving." Youngjae yells as he hops into the driver's seat of the cruiser. Jongup stares a bit longer at the personal file displayed on his screen, the face of a long lost friend staring up at him. Jongup hoped that with all the resources available to him, he would be able to find him after all these years but the file Yoongi sent him only made it worse. It was a closed file, a status stamp over the personal information glaringly red and final. 

 

_Choi Junhong, deceased._

 

Jongup drops his arm to his side and runs to the cruiser, grabbing onto the side and hauling himself into the back seat. He crouches down as Youngjae lifts them off, the sprawling City-State of Piltover rushing by them in massive buildings and other hover cars, but Jongup doesn't feel as alive as he used to upon seeing it all. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jongup as [The Piltover Enforcer](http://i.imgur.com/ZGzJjmN.jpg)


	2. Punch First

**"You are in violation of the Criminal Code set by the Mayor of Piltover, section 203. Surrender to the Sheriff or we will use force."**

 

Bang Yongguk lowers the megaphone as his police squadron surrounds the derelict building in the slums on the East End of Piltover, and he studies the building. It used to be a factory, before the renovation of the North caused business to crumble on the East. His deputy steps up beside him, and the sheriff can feel the anticipation from the younger man.

 

"No response sir, our unit is in position ready to infiltrate. AP Sensors show two mages and AD Scanners show a possible bruiser." Moon Jongup, his deputy, states. Jongup waves his arm, powerful AD powered gauntlets hissing with the casual movement. Yongguk lets out a breath, looking down at Jongup's weapons. They're massive metal arms, machine enhancing his strength and durability. A mess of pistons and valves but Jongup wields them with ease, although Yongguk knew personally they weighed a substantial amount. 

 

"Are you sure you're okay to lead this?" Yongguk asks, tapping his finger on the left gauntlet where they were recently repaired. Jongup rolls his shoulders, the connecting mechanism on his back clicking.

 

"Your bias is showing, you let Youngjae back the next day after he got pummelled by that tank." Jongup says with a half smile, raising his eyebrows almost in challenge. Yongguk scoffs, looking back at the building.

 

"Youngjae didn't get his left arm crushed by a support spell and then _keep going_ despite only having one goddamn arm." Yongguk replies, handing the megaphone over as one of the unit's support soldiers takes it. Another support soldier approaches with Yongguk's rifle, a long range sniper rifle with the sheriff's own modifications to fire a range of projectiles. He double checks to make sure he has peacemaker rounds and his 90 caliber net, satisfied when he does. 

 

"Unimportant details." Jongup says, looking down at his mechanized hands and flexing all eight of his metal fingers in sync. Yongguk cradles his rifle, the weight familiar and calming. The sheriff merely shakes his head, turning around and lifting his hand for the signal. 

 

Jongup moves to the front of the line, just behind the actual front line tank soldier. Jongup reaches up to pat the large man's shoulder, and the tank barely moves despite Jongup's gauntlets. 

 

"You ready to go?" Jongup asks, smiling brightly up at the tank, and Jackson smirks back. 

 

"Jackson goes where he pleases." Jackson says, setting his feet shoulder width apart to get ready for the initial charge inside. Jackson was the perfect tank, Jongup thought as he fell into step behind him, able to take an obscene amount of damage while being almost double a normal soldier's size. A masochistic ability to hurt himself and regenerate faster than he's damaged makes Jongup thankful that he's loyal to the Sheriff Yongguk, and not out on the streets against them. Jongup can hear Yongguk directing the rest of the five man squad into formation, before settling behind the time mage Youngjae.

 

"Steady boys." Yongguk says, and it goes silent.

 

Three seconds of silence, where Jongup could only hear the sound of his heartbeat and Jackson's steady breathing before Yongguk dropped his hand, the signal to move in and the police stormed the building.

 

Policemen were surging into the building from all possible entrances, armed with non lethal weapons. But they were just for backup, it was always down to Yongguk and his unit to take down Powered criminals, and the sheriff never put his non-Powered policemen's lives at risk. Yongguk glances at the radar equipped to this right arm, two bright yellow smudges and one dull red smudge hover from just behind the wall in front of them, and Yongguk realizes they would have to go through it for the best possible outcome. He lifts his rifle to the ready position, looking behind him for his support soldier. 

 

"The wall Jongup!" Yongguk shouts, jumping up and onto the wide shoulders of his support soldier as he ran by. Jin took his weight easily and continued on behind their front line. Yongguk watches from his vantage point as Jongup drops one arm, steam hissing from the pistons on his gauntlets. He runs in front of Jackson, punching through the brick wall and the resulting shockwave making a hole big enough for the rest of the team to follow in. Yongguk holds his breath so he doesn't inhale brick dust as Jin takes them into the building and Yongguk takes in the terrain. 

 

Narrow hallways, an old administrative office set up. 

 

"Ten o'clock." The sheriff shouts, and Jongup drops his arm to punch through the wall on their left. A bit of the roof comes down on the destruction of the wall, Youngjae dodging to the side as a pillar almost crushes him. "Not what I meant Jongup!" 

 

They emerge from the other side of the wall to the manufacturing floor, decrepit conveyor belts and old product littered everywhere. In the half light of the sunsetting through the massive windows Yongguk can see the three criminals, facing them and ready to fight. Yongguk hops off of Jin's shoulders, raising his rifle as he walks up behind Jackson, standing in the small space between his tank and Jongup. 

 

"Surrender to the Sheriff of Piltover." Yongguk shouts again, and all three of them look at Yongguk. 

 

"Ooh the Sheriff himself came out to get us Tibbers." One of the three says, talking to a stuffed bear she clutched to her chest. She was young, only a child, and Yongguk felt his grip falter briefly on his rifle.

 

"The Sheriff and his goon squad." Says another. This one is a man, a large man with a large sword, his armour looked Demacian. "We're here on official business Sheriff Bang, don't get in our way."

 

"You refused to register your presence with the Sheriff's Office when you came into town, and you've left a wake of destruction behind you." Youngjae says as he jump onto Jackson's back to speak to them. "It doesn't matter that you're Demacian Officials, Lord Wufan and Lady Taeyeon." 

 

Yongguk knew the names, but he'd never seen them. Lord Wufan was the High Knight of the Demacian Order and Lady Taeyeon lead the Order of Light. Yongguk despised the archaic way Demacia lead their troops. 

 

Lady Taeyeon spoke next, the petite blonde mage also wearing Demacian armour. "Your police force was not needed." 

 

Jongup laughs out loud, obnoxious and condescending. The deputy bruiser steps forward and points at the three while he continues to laugh and the little girl giggles along with him. Yongguk notices out of his peripheral vision that his police force just finished setting up the Plate Barrier around the building, which would prevent any destruction from passing out into the street. 

 

"You guys really think you're great don't you?" Jongup asks, crossing his massive mechanical arms in front of him. "Too good for anyone else." 

 

Yongguk can sense the tension rising in the room, the knight unsheathing his ridiculously massive great sword and the lady mage gripping her short staff. "This criminal is guilty of causing mayhem and destruction of the Demacian City, and we've come to apprehend her ourselves." Lady Taeyeon states, pointing at the little girl. 

 

"Annie is a citizen of Piltover and because of that she is our responsibility. We responded to the request for extradition negatively because we felt that the burning of a city block in another city was a juvenile offence, and considering Annie is a juvenile under the legal consenting age of Piltover we dealt with it accordingly." Youngjae replies with practiced ease, and Yongguk had to pat himself on the back for including someone who knows what's going on. "She was reprimanded accordingly and attended one month rehabilitation in the Jung Complex." 

 

"Mhm!" Annie agrees, looking completely nonplussed by the whole situation as she clutches her teddy bear and rocked back and forth. "I tried to tell them but they didn't listen to me!" 

 

"This criminal will stand trial and face the consequence of the High Court of Demacia. And you will not stop us Sheriff." Lord Wufan says as he lifts his sword and starts a charge at the five man squad.

 

"Your courts are outdated and useless." Youngjae shouts back, and Jongup looks incredulously up at the time mage.

 

"All the one liners in the world and you chose that one?" Jongup asks, like there wasn't a massive armoured knight charging directly at him. Jackson jumps in front of Jongup with a speed that belayed his size, the edge of the great sword coming down with a sickening crunch on Jackson's layered armour. Jackson shrugs it off, batting Wufan back with the back of his arm. Youngjae makes an indignant noise as he arms himself with his short, light bat, glowing with static energy.

 

"Now is not the time you two." Yongguk barks at his subordinates as Jackson presses forward. The Lady Taeyeon waves her short staff and some kind of binding light magic and imprisones Annie where she stands, startling the little girl. "Retrieve the innocent civilian and subdue the criminals."

 

"She is not innocent-" Wufan shouts, spinning around and dodging around Jackson as the tank charges toward him. Jongup steps up on the flank, rearing back and letting loose a haymaker that knocks the knight into the wall before he could finish speaking. The wall crumbles and cracks where Wufan hit, and the knight falls to the floor. 

 

"Yeah yeah we heard you the first four million times." Jongup says, breaking into a run after the bruiser knight. Yongguk directs his attention back to Lady Taeyeon, standing in front of the imprisoned Annie.

 

"Youngjae on Lady Taeyeon, Jin with me." Yongguk orders, and Jin takes the front line in front of the Sheriff as the three of them approach the two mages. Yongguk is confident in Jongup and Jackson's ability to deal with Wufan by themselves. Youngjae blinks fowards, suspending time for himself for a second and disappearing. He reappears within his range to swing his light bat at the Lady Mage. He connects the hit but there's a barrier protecting her, electricity crackling as Lady Taeyeon flinches and Youngjae is knocked backwards by a condensed ball of light from her staff. Youngjae tumbles, getting his feet back under him and charging forward again.

 

Yongguk hung back, silently directing Jin to take Annie while Lady Taeyeon is distracted with Youngjae. Jin approaches Annie with light feet, kneeling in front of the binding and smiling at the young girl. Yongguk is right behind him, his rifle up and a peacemaker shot ready in the barrel. 

 

"Hey, let's get you back home okay?" He hears Jin say softly, and Annie agrees, returning the smile. Jin lifts his hands and an opaque black octagonal shield that absorbs and negates AP magic like Lady Taeyeon's bindings surrounds Annie. "You can just step out now, come on."

 

As Jin pulls Annie safe from the binding, Yongguk looks back where Jongup and Jackson are subduing Wufan. Jackson is stuck in a concrete beam, his head and arm embedded as he tries to pull himself free. The Demacian Knight looked barely winded as he raises his sword to slice at Jongup. Jongup takes the hit, the great sword crushing a piston on his left gauntlet and sending the deputy rolling. Without hesitation Yongguk lifts his rifle and fired the peacemaker, reloading in one swift movement. The peacemaker snaps open as it flies, sharp blades catching the armour on Wufan's legs, slicing into the metal and tripping the large knight. 

 

"If you continue we will take this as an act of war." Yongguk states, taking another step forward and shooting again. This time he hit the knight's hand, the bullet ripping through the thin leather armour there. The knight shouts in pain, dropping the sword and rolling over to get up again. Yongguk doesn't let him. He takes another step forward and shoots again, hitting the thinner plate of the Randiun steel underneath Wufan's arm on his side. "Considering your high position in your own courts it would be advisable to stop--" 

 

"Sheriff!" Yongguk hears Youngjae shout, but it's too late. Lady Taeyeon waves her staff at him and binds him light prison, the shards of light jutting out from the sides and cutting into Yongguk's legs. Youngjae frantically throws his light bat at Lady Taeyeon, but it's deflected by her renewed shield and it rebounds back at him. Jackson pulled himself free of the wall with a roar, just as Wufan stands up. Yongguk could see the rapid healing of the Knight's hand as he picks up his great sword again, and charges at the bound Sheriff. Yongguk can only brace himself, lifting his rifle in front of him to shield what he can. Lady Taeyeon pointed her polished, white short staff at Yongguk and a razor thin beam of light shoots from the tip, puncturing his biceps, and in a flash it expands rapidly. A splash of blood splatters on the floor, but the Black Shield that Jin rushes forward and covers Yongguk with in time prevents the laser from blasting the whole right side of his body off.

 

"Attempted murder of The Sheriff of Piltover--" Jongup states, suddenly in position behind the Lady Taeyeon. He already charged his working gauntlet, pistons hissing as he punches and Lady Taeyeon hit the ground with such force that her shield completely shatters, the ground cracks and she doesn't move. "-- You're under arrest."

 

Jackson slams into Yongguk's side, the light binding fading as Lady Taeyeon was out of the fight, and Yongguk rolls along the ground. Jin is beside him in two seconds, deflecting debris as Jackson and Wufan collide. Youngjae blinks behind Wufan, his bat making a violent motion towards the knight's head. Wufan goes limp on contact, stunned by the static. Yongguk sits up, getting on his knees and loading a 90 Caliber Net on the front of his rifle. He shoots it, the net opening and twisting through the air. The net collapses on Wufan as the knight begins to regain movement, but Jackson grabs the net and closes it, lifting it and slamming the knight into the ground. He does it again and again, the clatter of armour and the crunch of bones making Jin run up to stop the tank. "He's out, it's okay!" The support shouts, and Jackson drops the bundle on the ground. 

 

Yongguk exhales as all threats are neutralized, lifting his radio to his mouth. 

 

"Call the warden." He says, directing his police force inside for apprehension of criminals. "And Doctor Jung." 

 

Yongguk looks over himself to assess the damage. The puncture wound on his arm is bleeding a bit, as well as the cuts that made it through his thin Guardian Angel armour on his legs. It's not bad. Policemen swarmed the factory floor, loading up the defeated knight onto a stretcher and placing an AD Silencer on Wufan's face, and doing the same with the Lady Taeyeon. Support soldiers crowd around Jackson, administering healing to the tank first. Yongguk lowers his rifle from ready position for the first time since they came on the scene, breathing out slow and measured. 

 

Jongup approaches Yongguk slowly, a limp in his left leg. 

 

"I've alerted the Mayor to the presence of Demacian Soldiers and Annie is in a cruiser on her way back to her parents." Jongup reports, and Yongguk nods. Youngjae comes up from the other side, looking over statistics on a tablet. 

 

"Annie is a powerful fire mage, we're just lucky Jin was able to calm her down enough that she didn't use her powers. Also the rehabilitation process taught her restraint, proper use and misuse of her abilities." Youngjae chimes in, sounding pleased and proud of the rehab report. "She was kidnapped four months ago because of her powers, but exploded in transit to where ever they were taking her, destroying a city block in the Demacian west wing. No causalities." 

 

Yongguk closes his eyes for a minute, a little sickened by the kidnapping report. "Just make sure she's alright, send Doctor Jung for a follow up this evening." 

 

Youngjae nods and leaves to make the call, typing rapidly with one hand on the tablet. 

 

"Are you hurt?" Jongup asks, stepping closer to Yongguk as the bustle of policemen around them fades to the background. Yongguk gives Jongup a private half smile, shaking his head. 

 

"Nothing serious. Jin's AP blocking Black Shields are a godsend." Yongguk says, tilting his head to the side slightly. "And you? I saw you take some pretty bad hits." 

 

Jongup shakes his head, a reassuring smile on his lips. "Nah, takes more than an old man with outdated weapons to--" 

 

A rapid alarm starts screeching on Yongguk and Jongup's police radio, dispatch crackling through all available speakers. Yongguk is back on alert, snapping to stand up straight on on guard. 

 

"Attention all units, three guided missiles are currently on route to your location, get out of there!" The dispatch screeches, repeating the message.

 

"On our six!" Jongup shouts, and Yongguk turns to look out of the massive windows of the factory. There, against the purple of the setting sun are three dots, leading a trail of white against the cloudless sky. Yongguk lifts his rifle to his shoulder, pressing the sight against his eye and ignoring the sharp pain in his arm when he did so. He scoped the missiles, focusing on the one in the middle. They were large, and Yongguk recognized the signets on the sides. They were from Piltover, but they are covered in childish graffiti painted teeth and explosions.

 

"Lower the plate shield!" Yongguk shouts as he fires the first bullet as soon as he sees the barrier go down, reloading and lifting it back up again. He fires again, just as the first bullet makes contact with the middle missile and causes it to explode in the air. The second bullet takes out the left rocket, leaving the third to wobble and veer off course. Yongguk shoots at the third, but it doesn't go off, the missile spinning as it starts to lose momentum. 

 

"Shield support!" Jongup shouts, running towards Jackson. A black shield appears around Jongup as he jumps onto Jackson's arm, and the tank threw the bruiser as Jongup shouts the order. Yongguk reloads to fire again but his arm loses all strength, bloodloss making him stagger and his arm drop like dead weight. The connecting gears on Jongup's back glow blue as the bruiser was thrown into the air to intercept the missile, and Yongguk's heart clenches in his throat.

 

Jongup makes contact and the resulting explosion is close enough to the building that all the windows shatter, Yongguk ducking for cover under his good arm. 

 

"Jongup!" He shouts, grabbing his radio and lifting it. "I need fire fighters and supports to the East End, four squads of supports for burns, falling debris on civilians. Get Jimin and Hoseok out here if you can." He orders, dropping his heavy rifle because he can't lift it anymore and pulling a smaller hand gun from the holster on his thigh. "And tell the Warden to hurry." 

 

Youngjae is already running out of the building through a hole in the wall, and Yongguk follows after him. "Sheriff the deputy is still alive, the idiot." 

 

"Find him Youngjae." Yongguk says as they walk through the crowd of policemen.

 

"He's three blocks over, there's a park--"

 

 ** _"Aww, Sheriff Bang ruined my fun."_** A voice pierces through crowd, and Yongguk looks up at the source. A boy is standing on top of the factory they were just in, staring down at them all and holding a bright orange megaphone. Yongguk lifts his hand to stop anyone from firing at building, many of his officers still inside. Yongguk studies the boy, who was staring directly at him and smiling widely. From this range Yongguk can see his shock of bright blue hair, pale skin of his arms exposed by a duo colour tank top and a police issued pair of pants with combat boots. Tattoos of clouds the same colour as his hair trailed up and down his arms. Strange. **_"It's okay, I've got more anyway."_**

 

Youngjae speaks up, his voice brittle. "I don't know who that is ser, he doesn't appear to be giving off any AD or AP readings at all." 

 

Every second they are here Jongup is still lying somewhere else half dead. Yongguk doesn't have time to mess around with some kid who thinks he's a criminal. Yongguk shakes his head, pointing at the boy. 

 

"Dispatch subduing supports to the roof--" 

 

 ** _"I'm not done yet Sheriff!"_** The kid shouts, dropping the megaphone and lifting a mini rocket launcher to his shoulder. 

 

"Cover!" Someone shouts, as the kid starts bombarding the area with short range rockets, a laugh piercing the air and making Yongguk's hair stand on end. His policeman ducking for cover as Yongguk lifts his pistol and shoots back at the kid, managing to hit the barrel of the launcher and knock it out of the kids hands. But that doesn't deter the kid for long; he evades the support spells thrown at him, tossing grenades in response. Yongguk grits his teeth and shoots as many as he could before they hit the ground, but there were too many.

 

A small airship flew over the area, and Youngjae shouts in relief.

 

"It's the warden!" He says, clutching his tablet to his chest and watching as the airship's bay door opened. The Warden of Piltover Correctional Facility jumps from the airship, landing on the roof with the deranged boy. Despite the situation Yongguk feels the need to reprimand the warden for his theatrics, but it's nothing Yongguk hadn't said to the other man before. Yongguk catches a flash of the golden hammer the Warden was known to use, before he looka back at Youngjae.

 

"Jongup?" He asks, and Youngjae snaps back to himself, getting caught up in watching the Warden swinging at the Kid.

 

"This way." Youngjae says as he takes off running through an alleyway, and Yongguk motions for a healing support to follow before following. Yongguk leaves the battle to the Warden and the rest of his police force, despite it being unprofessional. Youngjae leads them to a dead park a few blocks away, and Jongup is lying in a small crater of red dirt. His gauntlets are destroyed, a twisted metal mess as fuel leaked through broken valves. Youngjae wastes no time in cutting him out, a condensed beam of AP slicing through the smoking steel. Yongguk pulls Jongup out of the mess as soon as he was free, the healing support soldier behind him already casting spells. 

 

Yongguk sits back with Jongup on his lap, cradling the bruiser's shoulders. "Jongup? Deputy Moon Jongup?"

 

Yongguk wipes the red dirt from Jongup's face, and relief flooded his system as Jongup groans in response. Youngjae stands up once he saw Jongup was, indeed, alive, and starts running back to the fight a few blocks away. The healing support is drained of mana, and sits back to regain some before she can heal Jongup more.

 

"The shield Youngjae installed on my gauntlets works, by the way." Jongup says as he cracks open his eyes to look up at Yongguk. Yongguk frowns down at him.

 

"What if it didn't?" Yongguk whispers back, looking down at Jongup with a mixture of disappointment and worry.

 

"Then I would have died punching a rocket to save you. Sounds pretty badass right?" Jongup lifts his now bared arm, calloused fingers brushing over Yongguk's jawline. Yongguk gives up, slumping over Jongup to hug him tightly.

 

"Sounds fucking stupid."

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is hella weird amirite
> 
> bangguppie.tumblr.com


	3. Ask Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piltover Officials attempt to understand new threats, while Deputy Jongup faces his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant this to be a one shot but I passed out after 4k. Now I can't stop thinking about it.

The conference room in the newly built Piltover Police Station was up at the front of the building, the glass wall giving the occupants a grand view of the seaside City of Progress. The Sheriff was the first to arrive, his Deputy right behind him. They took seats on the right side of the table, and a clerk took their coffee order. As the clerk left the room, the Lead of the Jung Rehabilitation Complex for Criminal Behaviour Doctor Jung Daehyun entered the room, followed quickly by Sheriff Yongguk's best Detective Yoo Youngjae. After brief greetings, Doctor Jung Daehyun moved to the head of the table and began unpacking his things, directing Youngjae to set up the projecting holograms.

 

A few minutes later the clerk returned, the same time the support mage Kim Seokjin and frontline tank soldier Jackson Wang found seats on the back end of the table. Doctor Jung looked around as Youngjae started the projector, holograms sparking to life above the conference room table.

 

"That's all then, except for the Warden." Youngjae stated, and Yongguk sighed.

 

"The Warden is always late, he likes to make an entrance even though _all we want_ is him on time, for once." Jongup lamented, leaning back in his chair. Jongup had his arms wrapped in healing bandages, still a bit broken from the fight a few hours earlier. Yongguk had told Jongup to stay in the care of the supports but Jongup said he had a duty as deputy to be beside Yongguk at all times. Yongguk only let him come if he didn't put his gauntlets back on until he was fully healed.

 

Doctor Jung cleared his throat.

 

"You've been called here to be debriefed on the situation that happened in the abandoned potion factory on the East End of the Piltover docks. The apprehension of the diplomatic criminals Lord Wufan and Lady Taeyeon of Demacia is not a light offence, and if exacerbated could possibly lead to a war between the city states of Demacia and Piltover. An event that would be disastrous to both parties." Daehyun stated as he waved his hand and the profiles of the Demacian Knight and Mage appeared on the hologram, their extensive history of honours and heroism listing under their headshots. Youngjae took a seat to the direct left of the Doctor, bringing up another hologram of the Sheriff's squadron.

 

"The Piltover Enforcement involved were lead by Sheriff Bang Yongguk-" Youngjae was cut off as the door to the conference room burst open, the Detective startling in his seat at the sudden noise. All eyes turned to the door as the Warden of the Piltover Correctional Island Kim Himchan walked into the room, pulling a chair out beside Jongup and flopping down in it.

 

"Please, don't let me interrupt." Warden Himchan said, smirking as Jongup fixed him with a reprimanding look.

 

Youngjae paused for a moment, as if he was waiting for the Warden to disrupt him again before continuing on.

 

"The Sheriff Bang Yongguk, expert marksman and tactician lead a team of four into the building, can you confirm." Youngjae said as he looked at Yongguk. Yongguk nodded. "First into the building was Deputy Moon Jongup, Bruiser Class using AD Powered Gauntlets of his own design--"

 

Daehyun waved his hand an a map of the factory came up minimizing their profiles and showing the pathing they took. "-- Followed by Doctor Jackson Wang, Tank Class Soldier using advancements in masochistic regenerative abilities. Can you confirm?" Youngjae continued, looking at Jackson and then Jongup as they both nodded their confirmation.

 

Yongguk saw the Warden's hand inch towards Jongup's untouched coffee, and before the Deputy could take notice the Sheriff slid over his own cup. Himchan took it and left Jongup's alone, sipping reverently at the styrofoam cup.

 

Daehyun picked up where Youngjae left off, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over the edge of the table. "Detective Yoo Youngjae followed in after, using short range Time Magic and a statically charged baton; Support Soldier Kim Seokjin Dark Mage specializing in Bindings and Black Shields and the Sheriff were the last inside. Can you confirm this information to be true and accurate?"

 

Jin and Youngjae nodded, and Daehyun snapped the profiles of the squadron away, Annie's profile popping up in it's place. "Annie Fortune, seven years old, was kidnapped from her home on the Piltover North fifteen weeks ago. Intelligence believes the kidnappers were attempting to weaponize Annie's powerful mage abilities, but the girl was able to free herself on route through the Royal City State of Demacia. A Demacian Knight of the High Order, a Halfdragon named Kim Jongin brought the girl back to Piltover's borders and has since been stripped of his titles and imprisoned for his insubordination. Demacian Justice is none of our concern, however, in this session."

 

Yongguk lifted his hand to rub the bridge of his nose, feeling a pressure headache start to pulse behind his eyes. He remembered the call to take the girl home from the shoreline, seeing a dragon flying over the horizon and out of sight as they arrived on the scene. Daehyun continued on.

 

"The Mayor of Piltover Kim Namjoon has contacted the Queen of Demacia and Regent of the Freljord Chaerin for an explanation as to why they were operating in our city state without permission, and with such heavy handed destruction. The Mayor has limited movement over our borders, and completely closed all transit to Zaun and Demacia. Announcements are being relayed over the city, if any other Demacian Soldiers are in hiding to show themselves and be extradited." Daehyun paused for breath and Youngjae took up where he left off.

 

"The destruction caused by the light magic of Lady Taeyeon and the swinging of that stupidly massive--" Daehyun cleared his throat at Youngjae's choice of words and Youngjae continued on nonplussed by the reprimand. "-- great sword by Lord Wufan started in the markets of the North End where they found Annie, who tried to flee. Support Captain Park Jimin was on duty in that quadrant, and he answered Annie's cries for help, but was damaged and injured greatly by Lady Taeyeon's high AP damage. He's off duty for the foreseeable future, but his distress signal alerted the Sheriff to the threat. Their path of destruction continued on until they apprehended Annie and fled to the East End docks, where we believe they were waiting for extraction by other Demacian Soldiers. None have appeared so far." Yongguk could hear the contempt Youngjae held for Demacian Justice, knowing the young Detective has written several academic papers on exactly how archaic justice systems are flawed and only produced more criminals than they save people.

 

"Doctor Jackson Wang incapacitated Lord Wufan with the assistance of Sheriff Yongguk and Detective Youngjae, while Deputy Jongup knocked Lady Taeyeon unconscious." Daehyun explained, the hologram displaying the movement of Yongguk's squad in the building. "Lady Taeyeon and Lord Wufan are currently in high security lock down on the Correctional Island, under direct supervision of Warden Kim Himchan."

 

Himchan nodded his confirmation and went back to sipping Yongguk's coffee. Jackson leaned forward, propping his massive forearms on the conference table.

 

"Jackson wants to know if Deputy Jongup really had to use Assault and Battery on the one hundred pound Lady Mage, or it that just Jackson being sexist?" Jackson asked, glancing at Jongup. Jongup stared down at the table in front of him, refusing to acknowledge Jackson.

 

"Lady Taeyeon evaded all of my attacks and injured me to the point where I had to use my Z Drive to Chronobreak, otherwise she would have killed me." Youngjae said as he jumped to Jongup's defence. "If I couldn't go back in time five seconds to regenerate myself partially I wouldn't be here right now. So Deputy Jongup using such a high damage ability on a powerful mage is justified, and yes Jackson, you're just being sexist."

 

Jackson lifted his hands and sat back. "Jackson apologizes and retracts the question." 

 

Yongguk shook his head, speaking up for the first time since the conference started. "This is why we have debriefs after major fights Jackson, to question each other's choices and keep us in check. We have to keep our heads, we carry more firepower and are capable of too much to be unchecked." 

 

Doctor Jung nodded, before swiping his hand over the holograms to dismiss them. "Back on topic gentlemen. The Demacian Arrests are now a diplomatic problem, and any further incursions will be handled by the mayor and his bodyguards. After a follow up with Annie Fortune this evening I have a meeting to discuss how to proceed and Sheriff Bang will be kept up to date."

 

Youngjae loaded more data into the hologram, and another profile rotated over the conference room table. "The criminal calling himself Zelo is another matter entirely." Youngjae said. Jongup raised his eyebrows, staring at the profile full of empty spaces and question marks. 

 

"Zelo?" He asked, glancing at Daehyun for an answer. 

 

"This boy somehow got his hands on three homing missiles from Piltover's Silos, as well as several other decommissioned weapons from the time before Sheriff Bang's Force Restoration. We have _no data at all_ on this individual, other than what Warden Kim Himchan's recording disc captured while he was in combat with him." Youngjae said, sounding unnerved by the absence of records. "He had nothing to do with the Demacian Justice we faced, he was just at the right place at the wrong time." 

 

Yongguk sat forward, examining the slowly rotating hologram in front of him. The boy was fresh faced and young, couldn't be more than twenty at the very most, sixteen at the least. The sound of his laughter still rang through Yongguk's head, shrill and disconcerting. 

 

"This boy is under the Sheriff's Office jurisdiction, he's our responsibility." Doctor Jung stated, before bringing up a video. "This is what Warden Himchan captured during his fight." 

 

The lights dimmed as the video started, a view from above the the warehouse and the sounds of an airship. Yongguk threaded his fingers together and rested his chin on this thumbs, watching as Himchan touched down on the roof. 

 

"Surrender to the Warden of Piltover or I will use force." Himchan's deep voice commanded, the large golden hammer clanging on the ground beside him. The boy, Zelo, came into focus as the dust from the airship settled, standing several feet away and dancing back a few more steps. He was as Yongguk remembered, bright youthful smile just a little too wide. He held a strip of grenades in his left hand. Seeing him closer, Yongguk noticed the short range Firecannon Mini-Gun strapped to the boy's side, and the long range rocket launcher strapped to his back. Both were weapons Yongguk outlawed and destroyed upon taking his position, both too powerful to be used by any police force. Zelo's were modified though, a metal shark head welded onto the rocket launcher and the mini gun painted a lurid pink. The same style as the graffiti on the missiles. 

 

"Ooh ooh it's the Warden himself. But I'm not interested in you so leave before I blow your pretty face to pieces." Zelo threatened, dropping the belt of grenades and lifting the mini gun. He opened fire, the camera losing focus and getting too shaky as Himchan ducked and rolled. "You have three seconds!" 

 

A flash of white light and Himchan's hammer burst apart, reforming into a two handed cannon that sparked and dripped electricity. It was odd seeing the Warden fight from this angle, but Yongguk knew the man's style well enough to know what to look for. Himchan was heavy handed, showcased by how he blasted a ball of energy at Zelo without hesitation. The cannon flashed again and it was back into a hammer, the warden rushing the boy in the wake of the blast. But, as Himchan rushed forward something made him stop, and the camera caught the Shock Blast blowing off the roof and hitting the wall of the plate armour surrounding the building. 

 

"Time's up!" Zelo's voice came from right. Himchan turned to face him, just as he fired from flare gun and it hit Himchan in the chest. Blue static sparked across the lens and the sounds of the Warden being electrified are heard, before he fell back. 

 

Himchan huffed from his position beside Jongup and Yongguk could hear him rubbing his face. Yongguk didn't turn to face him though, focused on the video. 

 

Zelo approached Himchan as he lay on his back, bending over the Warden. 

 

"So this is awkward." Zelo said, bunching up his shoulders and bracing his hands on his knees. "You're not actually supposed to die yet and I'm kind of a stickler for details. So that's good for you! But the bad news is your reputation is probably going to suffer. Sorry not sorry!" 

 

The boy reached down and shook something on Himchan's uniform, ripping fabric, and Zelo had the Warden's Piltover Badge in his hand. 

 

"This gets me excited though. I gotta collect them all. I have four more to go." Zelo tucked the badge into a pouch on his belt, before looking down at Himchan again. "I'm Zelo by the way! It seems kind of awkward that we never introduced ourselves before shooting at each other." 

 

Zelo lifts his head suddenly as the sounds of other policemen are heard, and the boy pulls the rocket launcher from his back. "Gotta go, I'll be seeing you soon Sheriff~!" 

 

And the video ends. 

 

The lights come back on and Himchan stands immediately. 

 

"He was fast, no one can outrun my cannon at that range and get the drop on me the way he did. And he said and did all of that while I was unconscious. He hit me with a Shock Blast, the same goddamn thing I use in the prison to subdue inmates, and in my Mercury Cannon." Himchan said, slapping his hands on the table and leaning forwards. "I have all of that HexTech catalogued and stored where no one except the Mayor, Doctor Jung and Sheriff Bang can access it. Either he reproduced it by himself, or--" 

 

"You're about to make a pretty heavy accusation Warden." Jin said, speaking up for the first time. The Support Soldier sat forward, looking up at Himchan with an unreadable expression. "This criminal Zelo also had weapons Sheriff Bang had destroyed the first year of his appointed position, grenades that have been decommissioned for over six years and Piltover Missiles. Not one of those three have access to all of that."

 

Jin's voice was steady, and it was difficult to stay angry or incensed when he spoke. Himchan shook his head, drawing his fingers over his forehead.

 

"Or he's been planning this for a really long time..." Himchan finished, sitting back down. "I checked before I came over here, all of my Shock Blast rounds are accounted for, and I've never made a cannon for them that small."

 

"Is it too plain?" Yongguk asked, cracking a half smile as he tried to lighten Himchan's mood, glancing at the Warden. Himchan scoffed and shrugged his shoulder.

 

"It's not my style." Himchan agreed. When Yongguk turned to look at Himchan, he noticed Jongup was still staring, and hadn't commented at all since they finished with the Demacian Dispute.

 

Youngjae brought Zelo's profile back up again, and Daehyun went on to detail what weapons the boy had. But Yongguk was focused on Jongup and the lecture faded into the background.

 

"Are you alright?" Yongguk asked, his voice low. Jongup looked at Yongguk and conveyed something awful in a look. Something cold slid down Yongguk's spine as his normally cocky, smiling Deputy was stone faced and melancholy. 

 

"I know him." Jongup said in a tense whisper, an incredible sadness taking over the Deputy's face. Yongguk shifted his whole body to face Jongup, serious and focused. "He's-- Junhong."

 

Jongup swallowed after he spoke, leaning forwards and getting the attention of everyone else in the room. Doctor Jung quieted as Jongup clenched his hands on the table. 

 

"His name is Choi Junhong, he's from here, in Piltover." Jongup said, more steady than Yongguk anticipated and a swell of veneration thumped in his chest. "From the Slums on the East Docks, Star Beach." 

 

Jongup sat back again as Youngjae snapped up his tablet and began typing furiously, Doctor Jung looking over his shoulder. The warden, Jin and Jackson all looked at Jongup with questions on their faces, but Yongguk shook his head. They all understood tact, thankfully, and did not ask. 

 

"Choi Junhong, born in Piltover General twenty six years ago." Youngjae announced, throwing the new information up on the screen. The profile was outdated, the pictures flat and information static. "He was brought in seven years ago by the old PD for a minor transgression involving the Pirates of Blackwater Bay. He hasn't shown up since, no work records, no health records... One of the write offs before Mayor Kim's time." 

 

Yongguk studied the picture, and it was the boy Zelo; but he had difficulty connecting the age.  

 

"Twenty six? He couldn't have been older than twenty." Yongguk said. Daehyun brought up a side by side, the blue haired criminal beside the flat mug shot of a mousey haired, thin boy. Yongguk could see that they were the same person, but Zelo was a lot bigger. "Pharmatech maybe? Zaun?" 

 

"I'd have to study the evidence more, but it could be." Daehyun said, crouching over Youngjae with their new information. "We retrieved a sample from Himchan's uniform, where he removed the badge." 

 

The room was quiet for a few seconds, save for Youngjae's fingertips against the screen and images of Zelo flickering in the hologram. 

 

"As fun as this is, bonding with you gentlemen in silence, I have a prison to run. Is that all?" Himchan asked, pushing himself back and standing up again. Daehyun took a breath before nodding. 

 

"The only other thing we had to bring to light, was about how Zelo mentioned he would be seeing the Sheriff soon while talking to the Warden. It's no secret that every Piltover Enforcement Officer wears a body cam, but it seems that this boy criminal is focused on the Sheriff." Doctor Jung said, pushing his glasses up where they were sliding down his nose. "Be on your guard Yongguk." 

 

Yongguk nodded, and Daehyun dismissed the meeting. 

 

* * *

 

Yongguk's shift is over after the meeting and he's too tired to put in any more hours. He's too worn out, all the information trying to soak into the grey matter of his brain but he was just leaking it all out of his ears. He takes the short way home, getting dropped off by a cruiser and shuffling into the lobby of his apartment building. His whole body aches, his right biceps still tingling where they were punctured and his right side from rolling over debris. He pushes the button to call for the elevator and sighs out, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. 

 

"Sheriff." 

 

Yongguk turns slowly at the call, not at all surprised to see Jongup standing behind him. His deputy is in civilian clothes, worn jeans and a soft black leather jacket. His hair is loose and a bit messy, making him look more his age than the crisp uniform and heavy metal gauntlets. Yongguk drops his arm to his side, sliding his hands into the pockets on his slacks. 

 

"Deputy." 

 

Jongup doesn't need anything else, wandering up to get in the elevator as the doors opened. Yongguk follows, leaning against the wall of the elevator as Jongup presses the number for Yongguk's floor. 

 

"I kind of, can't change my own bandages." Jongup says, half way into the ride up. Yongguk can see where the jacket sleeves are bit tighter along the arms, a plastic bag dangling from cloth bound fingers. 

 

"Have you eaten?" Yongguk asks, the doors opening to his floor. Jongup nods, waiting for Yongguk to press open the locked doors. 

 

"Himchan made me a lunch, he gave it to me after the meeting." He says, taking his shoes off as he enters Yongguk's apartment. "He's weird. I asked him if he made me lunch this morning when he made his and he said no, but it's why he was late to the conference. Who's late because they're making lunch?" 

 

Jongup's face scrunches in disbelief, and Yongguk laughs, setting his bag down on the floor beside the couch. 

 

"There's a very small amount of people Himchan trusts, and cares about. And those few are treated as well as Himchan can manage." Yongguk says gently, taking the plastic bag from Jongup and waving him to sit on the bed in the corner of the room. Yongguk turns on one light in the small bachelor apartment, preferring the glow of the city through his floor to ceiling windows. "At least he's not insisting to wash your back." 

 

Jongup laughed that time, shrugging his jacket off and tossing it onto the couch. He sat down on the bed, pulling his shirt over his head and dropping it to the floor. Yongguk swallows, appreciating the dips and curves of Jongup's chest in the low light accentuated by shadow. Jongup slumps his shoulders as Yongguk sits beside him, reaching out and gently starting to pull the bandages on his right arm away. Since the meeting, the sheriff has been trying to put together the timeline that Youngjae started about Junhong, but he couldn't figure it out. Jongup is silent for a moment before taking a deep breath in, like he's diving underwater. 

 

"We grew up together, in Star Beach." Jongup says, watching Yongguk's hands as he unwinds the bandage. Yongguk lets him talk, focused on the task at hand and marvelling at Jongup's ability to know what he's thinking. "We always had each other's backs, through everything. But- we got caught. Eight years ago we broke into a city official's house, because we were young and dumb I guess. The Official had a safe, and Junhong had scoped it out, thinking it was full of money or gold or whatever." 

 

Yongguk threw the one wasted bandage in the trash, and Jongup turned to face him a bit more so he could reach other arm. 

 

"I was picked up, but they were gonna catch one of us- and I didn't want Junhong to go to jail. He was too young, and before- before Doctor Jung and Warden Himchan and-- and you... It was awful." Jongup breathed for a few seconds, like thinking of what being in prison was like was too painful and he tilted his head down. "When the Restoration happened and they were offering the Rehabilitation program for the first time I jumped at the chance, to get out early. They hit me with a ten year sentence, just for scaring an ancient City Official in his home. But I didn't think the rehab thing would actually work."

 

Yongguk dropped the other bandage in the trash, looking over Jongup's arms in the low light. There was still some bruising, but the puncture wounds healed and the bandages wouldn't have to be reapplied. 

 

"But it did, and I got out after only serving three years. I went looking for him, but there was nothing. Our place had been trashed, and it was being renovated in a few days... That's when you were elected Sheriff. I remember seeing the announcements, when I was signing up for the force I remember seeing you walk into the building and I..."

 

Yongguk touched over the nerve docks for Jongup's gauntlets, little metal circles in a line over his forearm and up to his shoulders. Yongguk slowly ran his fingers over each one, and Jongup followed the movement of his hands with his eyes. 

 

"I knew things would be different. And I wanted to be a part of that change, I didn't want more kids like Junhong to just disappear the way he did." Jongup's voice broke when he said Junhong's name, and he lifted his head to catch Yongguk's gaze. "But I didn't look hard enough-- I didn't look _enough_ because he's alive now and he's messed up and it's _my fault_ \--" 

 

"Hey hey..." Yongguk said, sliding his hand around Jongup's back and pulling him close. Jongup wasn't crying, but he was struggling to take a deep breath. "It's not your fault." 

 

Yongguk lifted his hand and caressed Jongup's jaw, shushing soothingly as he felt the other grip his shirt in clenched fists. 

 

"You saw him he's... he's not right. He's not the Junhong I knew, something happened." Jongup said, his shoulders hunching in as he tried to breathe slower. "I tried to protect him but I-- I wasn't there. _I wasn't there_ to protect him anymore and someone did something to him." 

 

"We can save him now Jongup." Yongguk said gently, tilting his head down to press his nose and lips into Jongup's hair. "We have the means to save him, Doctor Jung can rehabilitate him, you know it works." 

 

They were silent after that, Jongup slowly getting his breathing under control while Yongguk held him securely against his chest and shoulders. Yongguk could almost feel Jongup's state go from heartbroken to disconsolate, rubbing soothingly up and down Jongup's back. He'd read Jongup's file when he was up for the promotion, but hearing it from him was different. Yongguk didn't actually understand the depth imprisonment effected the man, but he wanted to. Jongup lifted his head slowly, but didn't pull away. His nose bumped against Yongguk's jawline as the older looked down. 

 

"You can't save everyone Guk." Jongup said, the inconsolable sadness behind Jongup's gaze making Yongguk wince. But Jongup sat up straight, sliding his hand around to hold Yongguk's jaw as he leaned in and kissed him, sudden and desperate. Yongguk returned the kiss without hesitation, opening his mouth to Jongup's soft lips and demanding tongue. Jongup kissed him until he broke away to breathe, resting his forehead against the older man's. 

 

"But I can try." Yongguk replied gently, pushing Jongup's hair away from his face. Yongguk shifted on the bed, pushing Jongup to lay down. He went without a fight, but he watched Yongguk closely. Yongguk turned off the small light, plunging the room into a brief darkness before the dull light of the city washed through the room. Yongguk lay down beside Jongup, pulling his partner onto his chest and holding him securely. "Goodnight." 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it gets hella weirder. 
> 
> bangguppie.tumblr.com


	4. While Punching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelo ups the stakes, Jongup's personal life is ripped open over the top of Piltover Police Tower.

 

> Yongguk hovers between asleep and wakefulness, his breathing is deep and slow. He's lying on his back and he's warm and content and at the moment, nothing is wrong. He has no responsibilities, he's just existing. Seconds, minutes, hours- Time passes, and he cracks his eyes open. 

 

* * *

 

 

"Doctor Jung and Detective Yoo are out of action for the foreseeable future." Is the first thing Jongup is greeted with as he enters Yongguk's office. 

 

Yongguk is standing beside the window, a large data tablet held in front of him as he occasionally glances out the window over looking the East End Docks. Pillars of smoke billow from buildings in different sections of the city, the song of sirens constant. But it wasn't Yongguk who spoke. 

 

A smartly dressed man who holds himself with an air of authority stands on the other side of the spartan office, and he's the one who spoke as Jongup entered. Jongup recognizes him immediately, from the papers, the news, everywhere. He bows quickly to the Statesman Mayor of Piltover, Kim Namjoon. 

 

"Ser." Jongup greets. Mayor Kim acknowledges him with a nod. 

 

"Jung and Yoo were impaired by the criminal Zelo last night, around nine pm." The Mayor continued, pulling a small tablet from the inside pocket of his double breasted suit. Yongguk is silent on the other side of the room as Jongup takes the computer from the statesman. "This changes everything, catching and putting an end to this criminal's rampage is priority one, and you're leading this case Deputy." 

 

Surveillance footage starts to play on the tablet as Jongup looks down at it, and Zelo appears, taking up the whole screen and smiling boyishly but Jongup looks back up at the Mayor as a sense of dread rips through his chest.

 

"You are aware that this... criminal and I have a history?" Jongup asks, looking at Namjoon warily.

 

The Mayor nods, sliding his hands into the pockets on his dress pants. "You have the biggest desire to bring him in alive for rehabilitation."

 

Jongup looks back down at the video, and it starts playing again as it senses Jongup's line of sight. Zelo forcibly rips the camera from it's perch on the wall with a loud crunch.

 

"You can choose your strike team, but Sheriff Bang's usual team is unavailable. Doctor Jackson Wang, with his extensive knowledge of Zaunite Pharmatech is studying the samples we collected last night and from Warden Himchan. We need to know what's powering Zelo, so it's Jackson's duty to find it out. Support Soldier Kim Seokjin was promoted this morning to my personal guard, and Detective Yoo is in Accelerated Care with Doctor Jung." Jongup keeps his eyes on the tablet as the Mayor spoke, the picture blurry with movement. "And the Sheriff himself is leading the relief effort and containment of destruction."

 

Jongup nods, and watches as Zelo's face came back into focus. Zelo made an exaggerated shushing gesture with his finger against his lips, and the memory of Junhong doing the same thing hits him so hard it makes his chest ache. Jongup swallows and moves to sit down in one of the chairs in front of the Sheriff's oak desk, taking a deep breath. Zelo turns the camera to show he's watching Doctor Jung and Youngjae through a window from a perch on the opposite building. 

 

"He attacked them at the Rehabilitation Facility?" Jongup asked, looking up at the Mayor in shock. "How? It's right underneath the prison." 

 

Mayor Kim nods, his expression dark and thoughtful. He pauses for a second before speaking up again. "We're unsure how, but, Deputy..." Mayor Kim studies Jongup briefly before continuing on. "I hope you understand the importance of bringing Zelo in alive for rehabilitation." 

 

Jongup almost looks sideways at the Mayor, but he catches himself. The idea of weaponizing Zelo as is makes him feel a torrent of disgust at the Mayor. But Mayor Kim lifts his head knowingly, sensing the emotion. 

 

"Having someone this powerful, this resourceful would benefit the entire city-state Deputy. He's breaking through our defenses and destroying more of our city than Zaun, or Blackwater Bay have ever accomplished. It would give us an edge over Zaun, solidifying our position in Valoren. We need that now more than ever, especially with the way things are looking in Demacia and the Freljord." Mayor Kim says, motioning with his hands at the destruction of the city outside the window. He takes a breath in and looked down briefly. "Have I lead you wrong yet?" 

 

Jongup realizes his clenching the tablet so hard the screen is crumpling, relaxing and letting his shoulders fall. "No, ser." 

 

"I want what you want Jongup." Namjoon says, his face sympathetic. "To save him, to rehabilitate him." 

 

Jongup thinks for a moment, but the Mayor sounds sincere. He can't shake the hesitance though. "I... I would need the Warden." 

 

Mayor Kim nods, and Jongup looks back down at the tablet. 

 

"Shh, I'm hunting wabbits." Zelo said in a stage whisper as he set the camera down in a position to capture everything. The sounds of metal clinking together play through the speakers as the tablet straightens itself out from Jongup nearly crushing it. Zelo is loading a weapon. Jongup's stomach jumps into his throat as a rocket whistled through the air at the window, exploding on contact and the video stuttering. Before the dust even began to settle a great blast of wind from inside the now crumbling building blew out the fire, the smoke clearing. Doctor Jung stood in the middle of rubble, his eyes glowing blue as the wind whipped his hair and clothing. Youngjae lay on the ground behind him, unconscious. 

 

"Wow rude!" Zelo chimed, minigun fire popping off screen. The bullets were deflected by a barrier of wind, bouncing off and falling to the street forty stories below them. Daehyun waved his hand, weaving the wind until a staff solidified in his hand, taller than he was with three crystals on the crown. "Aren't you going to say the thing? The Surrender to Piltover thing?" 

 

Jongup swallowed as he watched the Doctor's power, he had no idea the man possessed such a high AP level and wind-born mages were so rare. Jongup wouldn't have thought that Daehyun was in possession of a wind weaver, a rare and powerful staff passed down to high born air mages. Doctor Jung shook his head, a minuscule tornado starting to whirl in front of him.

 

"I'm not a police officer, I don't have the authority to arrest you." Daehyun said, tilting his staff back. "So I don't have to warn you about anything."

 

The whirlwind whipped forward, without any motion from the Doctor. The wind is loud in the speakers, but Daehyun's eyes widen slightly in surprise. Zelo laughs again, earsplitting and false. "It's a little ridiculous how slow you can make wind go Doc. It's wind, you can't even see it but I saw that coming a mile away." 

 

Another howling gale pierces through the air and the camera is knocked askew, falling from it's perch and tumbling to the ground. The camera angle switches to one set in the corner of Doctor Jung's office, and Jongup is seeing from the opposite angle. Zelo moves fast, too fast to not be enhanced and especially for his size; and Jongup remembers the way Jackson moved the before during the call out to the docks yesterday, it's too similar to not be the same thing. 

 

"It's too bad you don't have an actual way to fight back at me." Zelo said as he lifted his minigun again and opens fire. Daehyun deflected them again, moving closer to the blown out wall. "Sucks being a Support Mage doesn't it Doc?" 

 

And Zelo is right. After seeing Daehyun fight Zelo back, Jongup can see that Daehyun has no way of inflicting enough damage to subdue Zelo, the criminal dodging all of his attacks. The Doctor can defend himself and Youngjae with ease, but Zelo was just going to keep hammering at him until something broke, Jongup can see that now. A 90 Caliber net, something designed and built and perfected by the Sheriff, fired with a bang out of a previously hidden cannon below them, and Daehyun has to push himself to the right to dodge it-- but he leaves Youngjae's unconscious body exposed. 

 

Zelo hones in on the opening, a rocket blasting off before Daehyun realizes what's happening. The Doctor throws everything to deflect the explosive and protect Youngjae, the right side of the wall blowing off as another shield covers Youngjae as the rocket detonates, but the blue in Daehyun's eyes fades. 

 

"Tired yet?" Zelo asks, jumping across the divide in buildings as Daehyun collapses, exhausted of mana and severely wounded. "Looks like you're out of mana Doc. Take two of these and call me in the morning." 

 

Zelo drops two grenades between the doctor and the detective, ripping the badge from Youngjae's sleeve and the identity tag from Daehyun's coat. He rolled the wind weaving staff under his foot and kicked it up, catching it as he turned to run, dropping down off the side of the building as the grenades go off--

 

And the video feed cuts out. 

 

"Doctor Jung had exhausted all mana but the shield he covered Youngjae with saved the Detective's life. Doctor Jung is currently in an generated coma, and Detective Yoo is awake, but unresponsive." The Mayor says, and the office feels suffocating. Jongup sets the tablet on Yongguk's desk. "Do you understand what I mean now, about his resourcefulness, his skill? He reproduced Sheriff Bang's net, Warden Himchan's Shock Blasts and now he has a wind weaver, its no doubt he'll understand how to use it soon." 

 

The Mayor paces the large office, and Jongup slowly lifts his eyes to watch him, resigned. 

 

"People like him, like Sheriff Yongguk and Doctor Jung and Warden Himchan, like you and me; they can carry nations Jongup. Look at the change the five of you have done since the Restoration five years ago. Piltover's Finest changed this City-State back into the City of Progress after ten years of depression and now we're back to being a power in Valoren." Mayor Kim lifts his left hand out of his pocket as he speaks, and Jongup notices for the first time his fingers are silver. His whole hand is silver metal. Jongup couldn't remember if the statesman had any powered abilities. "Do you understand? We can do so much together." 

 

Jongup nods, putting the tablet on the Sheriff's desk. 

 

"Any leads on where Zelo is hiding?" Jongup asks, glancing at Yongguk again. The Sheriff is still focusing on directing support troops through the city with the data tablet and a sharp eye, he doesn't give any sign that he's paying attention to Jongup and the Mayor. 

 

"Yes. He's been bouncing through sectors for the past thirteen hours, but there's an epicentre to them." Mayor Kim says, sliding his hands back into his pockets. "I can send you the information when you're suited up and ready to move out." 

 

"Yes ser." Jongup replies, standing up and half bowing. Namjoon nods in return, before turning and marching out of the room. When the Mayor opens the door, Jongup can see the Mayor's bodyguards outside briefly, before the heavy oak door closes. 

 

The room goes quiet, save for the drag of Yongguk's fingers over the tablet. 

 

Jongup counts the times Yongguk breathes in, before slowly approaching him. 

 

"... I know you're busy, so you don't have to give me your attention." Jongup says softly, looking down at his hands as he fidgets with them. "But I just wanted to say a few things before I head out." 

 

Jongup thinks about what he wants to say.

 

He wants to say how he's appreciated Yongguk's encouragement through his training, helping Jongup stand when he fell. He wants to say how much he thought that a kid from Star Beach wouldn't get to have the things that he has now, especially after getting persecuted and thrown in jail. He wants to tell the Sheriff how good every little comment he was given felt, even though they were just passing phrases and Yongguk probably didn't know who he was then, who he could be. 

 

 Jongup wants to ask him if he remembers those late night stake outs when they cracked down on the drug and human trafficking trade; about how Yongguk would bring Jongup's favourite snacks and keep him awake. How Yongguk's trust pushed Jongup to work harder. He wanted to ask how Yongguk trusted him so easily, what he did to deserve it. 

 

He wants to explain how nervous he was when he kissed Yongguk for the first time after bringing in those Noxian assassins. Ask if his adrenaline was running high and his heart pounding in his throat too. He wants to make a play on words about how their blades were sharp, but Yongguk's shooting was sharper. Jongup wants to explain why he comes after work to Yongguk's apartment instead his own-- he wants to tell Yongguk he has no food at his own apartment because he spends all of his free time with him. He wants to tell him so much. He wants to say that four letter word that's waiting in the corner of his mind. 

 

But he can't. Everything gets stuck in his throat. 

 

Yongguk looks up at Jongup, tapping his finger on the small receiver in his ear and locking the tablet. 

 

Jongup presses his lips together and notices his hands are shaking. 

 

"Its okay." Yongguk says before Jongup can say anything, placing the large tablet on the table beside him and pushing himself off of the window. He approaches Jongup slowly, the deputy warily looking the sheriff over until he's standing in front of him. Yongguk reaches out, his hand wrapping around the back of Jongup's head and he pulls him closer, until he can rest his forehead against his. "I know."

 

Jongup's breathing stutters in his chest as he's overwhelmed with gratitude, with appreciation, and love for Yongguk. He tries to take a breath in but it sounds more like a sob, reaching out and holding on to the front of Yongguk's dress shirt. 

 

"You can do this Jongup." Yongguk says, his deep and calm voice soothing to Jongup's frayed nerves. "I know you can." 

 

Jongup nods, thinking about Junhong, thinking about how he can save him and protect him like Yongguk protects him. A gentle knock on the door brings reality back and Jongup tries to reign his emotions in again, Yongguk pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth before pulling away. He gives Jongup a few more moments to pull himself together before going back to the window and collecting his command tablet. 

 

"Yes?" Yongguk says loudly, and the door opens. Jongup turns as Himchan enters the room, raising his eyebrows as he senses a bit of leftover tension. 

 

"Mayor Kim sent me?" Himchan asks more than stated, stepping into the room and closing the heavy door behind him. Yongguk nods, sitting against the window sill and looking at Himchan. 

 

"You'll be going with Jongup to capture and detain Zelo." Yongguk says. A buzzing on the inside of his jacket alerted Jongup to new information on his tablet, reaching into his pocket and retrieving his work issued data tablet. He taps open the files sent to him by Taehyung, one of the scientists directly under Mayor Kim. It's details of Zelo's attacks, triangulation pointing to an epicenter in the slums of the east beaches. 

 

"Right. Because we haven't been doing that all damn morning." Himchan scoffs, but he shrugs afterwards. "Coming down here was a trip, there's only about four office staff left in the building right now. It's like, twilight zone quiet out there." 

 

Jongup nods, already planning the path to take through the slums to look for Zelo- Junhong. "Let's get going, I don't want to waste anymore time." He says, the feed on his tablet stuttering for a second. He wrinkles his nose, tapping his fingers against the receiver ear piece as he puts his tablet back into his jacket. "Control, I'm headed down to the armory, Warden Kim and I are going out by ourselves."

 

Jongup hears Control Comissioner Min grumble a reply back and he glances at Yongguk. "I'll call with updates." 

 

Himchan leaves the room first, dropping a lunch kit on Yongguk's desk and reminding him to eat it later. Yongguk half smiles at the warden and nods, waving briefly as Himchan leaves. Jongup swallows before nodding curtly, feeling a heavy burden of duty on his shoulders as he closes the heavy oak door behind him on his way out. Himchan is already waiting with an elevator, holding it open as he looks at his personal communication tablet. Jongup hurries to get into the elevator and asks for the armory. 

 

"Ah, did one of the nearby comm posts get hit, I can't get a signal at all. I'm so close to getting a date with this gorgeous brunette--" Himchan mumbles as he taps against the screen as the elevator starts dropping. Jongup is still tense, watching the numbers decrease as they descended. He feels a nudge, turning to look at Himchan. "I would say not to worry but it would be pointless wouldn't it?" 

 

Jongup bites his bottom lip, thinking about asking the one question that would truly alleviate his stress. But Himchan already knows that look, probably because he's been getting it ever since he arrived in Piltover. 

 

"No. I can't tell you what happens Jonguppie." Himchan says, his voice sad and serious. "I've already broken too many rules, and paid for it." 

 

It was truly curious, how Himchan snapped back in time. How he appeared one night, six years ago in a chronoshift that nearly destroyed Yoo Youngjae in it's backlash. Himchan was from the future, how far, he couldn't say. He could say that he hadn't been born yet though, and when he was he planned on being there for it, which Jongup thought was odd but it wasn't his place to say. But Himchan knew the future of Piltover, he held answers that most people were looking for. Jongup didn't know the full story, about why he was here in the first place or how he did it, just that now Youngjae was a time mage and Himchan was one of the most powerful full humans that Jongup ever met. Himchan looks back down at his tablet, putting the question to rest before it was asked. 

 

"This hextech is ridiculous, how do people even function." Himchan grumbles, not for the first time, on the lower level of tech than he was used to. The doors ding open and Jongup steps out into the armory, the lights flickering briefly as machinery hums to life.

 

The whole armory was automated, sensing the officer and retrieving the correct equipment for them upon entry. It was secured so there was no danger of specific weapons falling into the wrong hands, no mishaps or misfires. Most of the weaponry was non-lethal now, thanks to the Sheriff's restoration, but there was still a lot of firepower in the room. Jongup removes his uniform jacket as the machine delivers his gauntlets, a new pair of giant mechanized arms gleaming in the harsh light of the room. Jongup designed his first pair, right after his rehabilitation and over the years Techmaturgical Expert Kim Taehyung helped him improve them. Jongup slips his bare arms into the gauntlets like he slips on a jacket, feeling the nerve ports click into machine and the low vibration of power course through tired muscles. Jongup can hear and feel the machine disconnect the gauntlets when they're connected to him completely, and he steps out, looking down at them. They're new, Taehyung must have finished another pair for him last night, because they feel different. They feel lighter, but Jongup could still feel their strength. He flexes the giant metal fingers one by one, each one lagging ever so slightly until they're completely synced. 

 

"Those look so cool Jonguppie." Himchan says as he looks at him, his own Mercury Cannon already strapped to his back. He's got thin armor on, a Deadman's Plate to help his movement instead of the overly heavy Randiun Steel. Himchan pats Jongup's right gauntlet. "Let's go." 

 

Jongup is halfway out of the building, descending another ten floors in the freight elevator because his gauntlets are too heavy for the high speed elevator they took down from Yongguk's office, when his comm buzzes in his ear. 

 

"The Sheriff's office is on blackout, Deputy Moon do you read?" Control Comissioner Min buzzes in his ear, and Jongup reflexively turns around and looks up at the Police Station.

 

"I read you control, what's going on?" Jongup can't see that high, the Sheriff's office at the top of the almost ninety storie building.

 

"There's a disruption in comm to the Sheriff's office, he's not even picking up the hard line." Control Min's voice rings, the normally calm tone replaced with a firm urgency. "And there's a severe disruption in air pressure, maybe a broken window."

 

Jongup's heart jumps into his throat.

 

"What about visual confirmation, has anyone been into his office yet?" Jongup runs back into the building, accidentally ripping the door off the hinges in his urgency. There was no reason for Yongguk's office to be in blackout, it was never in blackout for any reason. A broken window that high up, it was frightening. Jongup went to the high speed elevator, kicking the button to call it. 

 

"No, there's no one in the control office but me Jongup, I can't leave."

 

Jongup curses and gets into the elevator when it arrives, but it immediately dings with the overweight alert. Himchan is right behind him, and he grabs onto one of Jongup's fingers. "I'll go, you take the freight elevator."

 

"It's been sixteen minutes since I've had communication with the sheriff, ten since the drop in air pressure." 

 

Jongup feels a strong sense of urgency as Himchan physically pulls him out of the elevator and slams the button for the top floor. "Freight elevator now Jongup." He snaps as the door closes. 

 

"Yoongi, Himchan is in the high speed elevator and I'm in the freight, if you lose us when we get up there you have to call the Mayor." Jongup says as he drags the gates up for the much slower freight elevator, denting the metal with his grip when he gets in and slams it back down. 

 

"Understood Deputy, the Mayor is currently back in his office, he's down to the bare minimum of his bodyguards." 

 

The ride to the 78th floor is a blur, four minutes and forty eight seconds a lifetime of picking at Jongup's nerves. Jongup imagines the worst, Yongguk the most vulnerable in his office with no weapon, no armor. The building was empty of capable officers, looking back it was ridiculous how they couldn't see some kind of attack coming. 

 

"I lost comm with the Warden when he arrived on the Sheriff's floor, it must be a blocked signal." Yoongi's voice says in his ear, and Jongup tries to swallow past the fear. 

 

"If I don't report back in five minutes after arriving on the floor, call the Mayor." Jongup repeats, and Control Min's voice confirms. Finally, finally the elevator stops and Jongup ripped the gates open, a click and static in his in ear receiver as the metal of elevator door falls to the ground. Jongup breaks into a run, the wind a deafening roar in his ears as it blew harshly through the entire floor. The large oak doors that Jongup walked out of less than a half an hour ago were open, paper and glass and plastic rustling around in the gust. 

 

Jongup slows to a stop when he gets into Yongguk's office, the once immaculate room destroyed and the giant picture window over looking the east end docks open to the sky. Himchan stands at the broken window, looking out over the impossibly blue skyline. He turns when he hears Jongup, his expression dark. Yongguk is nowhere to be seen, and Himchan nods at the wall behind Jongup. Jongup turns, and a message is spray painted in bright baby blue. Jongup reads it, and falls to his knees, bending forward until his forehead touches the floor because he simply cannot stand anymore. 

 

TAUGHT THE SHERIFF 2 FLY 

WAITING 4 U JONGUPPIE 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is a lot longer than i thought it would be and theres another chapter.


End file.
